Behind The Scenes
by oilpaints
Summary: In which Class 3-E decides to film a short romantic movie in order to distract a certain sleazy yellow octopus who doubles as their target and teacher. As for the romance that occurred behind the scenes? Trust me. They didn't see that one coming.
1. SCENE 1, TAKE 1

The classroom had been completely converted into a dressing room. There was a rack full of colorful shirts and a variety of skirts and shorts – some from the girls' own closets, some sewn by Hara herself – slipping off the hangers. The chairs and tables were scattered, and all kinds of make-up and jewelry boxes sat there, waiting to be used.

Hayami stepped over a pair of dangerously high and incredibly impractical cream-coloured stilettos – how on earth do you _walk_ in those? – and made her way to one of the chairs and sat there quietly, glancing around.

Bitch-sensei, the star of the show, was applying her own make-up while Kurahashi did her hair, gushing about the film and roles. Everyone else was doing more or less the same; braiding, chatting, applying lip gloss, and such.

Other than the peach-haired girl, only Hazama seemed disinterested, her messy black waves falling over her pale face as she read an undoubtedly blood-chilling novel.

Hayami was _supposed_ to be doing her own make-up – Kataoka, the director's, orders – but since everyone was so busy and payed her no heed, she decided she could easily get away with it.

"Girls!" Fuwa said loudly to catch their attention over the ruckus. "Let's get changed! Go, go, go!"

"Wait," Hayami said quietly, raising a finger.

Everyone stopped in their tracks immediately. She rarely talked or gave an opinion, so when she did, her word was gold.

She got up calmly and grabbed one of their air guns loaded with anti-sensei BBs and headed for the closed windows. She could feel everyone's eyes on her back as she opened them with a little too much force.

Okajima and Maehara jumped in surprise, and she raised an eyebrow coldly, holding up her gun.

"You"–she pointed it at Okajima, who was sweating–"should be setting up the cameras."

"And you"–she pointed the gun at Maehara, whose eyes were wide–"should be getting ready in the teacher's lounge with the other boys."

Without waiting for a reaction, she slammed the windows shut again and pocketed the gun. She could tell they're gone. She smiled a little.

Everyone stared at her.

"What," she said. It didn't sound like a question.

Kanzaki blinked. "H-how did know you that they would–?"

She laughed a little, taking out the gun and tossing it back to where it previously was. "Honestly? I would have been surprised if they didn't." She skimmed through the script – Fuwa's work. Hazama occasionally helped, but hated the idea of an incredibly clichè romance film, so it was scarce – one last time.

The story was, technically speaking, based on Bitch-sensei and Karasuma-sensei and their class, minus the giant yellow octopus who doubled as a teacher and target. In fact, assassination was removed completely from the plot. It was kind of disappointing.

It was about a beautiful young woman named Iris Marjanovic, previously one of the most famous models, who unwillingly became a teacher to a reject class, and ended up falling for the professional P.E. teacher who seemed oblivious to her charms.

Hayami didn't have any lines for the particular scene they were about to shoot. All she had to do was have a fake conversation with Chiba in the background. _Easy_.

While the movie was supposed to be a part of an assassination plan, they haven't actually fleshed-out the plan yet. It was irritating. Hayami's hands were itching to grab a handgun and practice sniping.

She got up and left the room. No one even noticed; they were so preoccupied.

Her eyes found her way to a certain boy. His black hair covered his eyes as always. She'd caught glimpses of his eyes before – brown or red or a little bit of both – and he seemed to spot her at the same time, because he waved her over.

She joined him under the shade of the tree, sitting on the grass, which tickled her legs a bit but she didn't mind. All they had to do was sit there and pretend to talk. Not much work, really.

They sat in silence, and she was acutely aware of the tips of their fingers touching and their knees brushing as she observed the scene.

Okajima and Mimura were setting up the cameras, and Kataoka seemed slightly stressed as they looked for good angles. Isogai looked utterly confused, unsure of whether to help her or not.

Itona, as always, was apathetic. He was sitting on a patch of grass, making the final tweaks to his camcopter. He had attached a cell phone to it, where Ritsu was in charge of filming and he in charge of steering.

"This is stupid," she said.

He chuckled softly. "Yeah. I feel like the assassin part should've been kept, it would've been more interesting."

"Koro-sensei prefers _extremely_ clichè romance though."

He smirks a little, toying with the hem of his shirt. "We all know he would prefer something racier."

Should any other guy (except maybe Isogai or Nagisa) have said that, she would've punched them in face. _Hard_.

But because he was Chiba Ryuunosuke, she just chuckled and gently punched his shoulder. "That would have to be a deal breaker on my part."

They were quiet for a few moments before he tilted his head slightly to one side and said, "Look there."

She followed his hands to stare at a fluffy, white cloud that seemed to be in the shape of a cat. "It looks like a cat."

He smiles fondly, and it makes her heart skip a beat. "Hmm… no. To me it's a rose."

She laughs a little and tilts her head. "If you look at it this way, I guess–"

He presses his lips together, and she stops mid-sentence. "You know, it's a little weird." She stays quiet and he stares at the grass, counting the blades. "I don't get why I can't seem to be able to talk properly to anyone but you."

She sighed a little, throwing her head back and looking at the sky. "Tell me about it."

He grins, back to his playful mode. "Okay, how about that one"–he pointed at another cloud–"look me in the eye and tell me it doesn't look like an airplane."

She turned to him, and it's a little terrifying that she always manages to lock eyes with him even when his bangs act as a curtain. She said, very seriously, "It doesn't look like an airplane."

After a moment, they burst out laughing.

"Seriously, though, Chiba. It's more of a dolphin."

He shrugged. He began to trace a pattern on the back of her hand, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't feeling little shocks of electricity. It's just so _clichè_ to feel like that - the butterflies, the increased heartbeat… but it's just so _endearing_ when Chiba does it.

(She'd rather shoot herself than admit it, but she kind of, sort of likes it.)

She familiarizes herself with the pattern and sucks in a breath through her teeth.

She followed his gaze (or at least, tried to) to another cloud in the sky.

He turns and she catches another flash of his eyes, fleeting but _beautiful_. It makes her breath catch.

"It's a heart," they said at the exact same time.

"Cut!" Kataoka yells, and they both nearly jump, creating an extremely visible distance between them. They stare at each other in slight shock, mouths slightly agape. They were so busy talking that they didn't even realize filming had begun.

Fuwa walks up to them like she's trying not to smile, her hands on her hips with a knowing look in her eyes.

"You two," she tutted fondly. "While you're my OTP and all that, you're kind of overpowering the main couple of the movie, 'ya know? Just"–she winked a little–"turn it down a bit, yeah?"


	2. SCENE 2, PREPARATIONS

Colorful liquids bubbled in flasks and tubes and the blackboard was riddled with chemical formulas. The classroom had been set into what it usually looked like when they were studying chemistry, but with a bit more film-worthy style.

Sugaya brushed his gray hair out of his face, grinning as he admired his and Okuda's handiwork. While the two of them did the placing, Terasaka's gang - minus Itona and Hazama - did the heavy lifting.

A blonde-haired girl walked into the classroom, humming some pop song to herself. She tapped his shoulder, grinning. "You did a good job."

He smiled and scratched his cheek. "It wasn't just me."

She shrugged, still smiling. It was one of those moments when he wanted to draw her. He almost went to find his sketchbook and pencils out of impulse. She glanced around the room and nodded, looking satisfied.

"It looks normal, 'ya know?" she commented. "But somehow it's prettier. I dunno how you do it."

He laughs a little. "You flatterer. What did you come here for anyway?"

"Hmm?" she pried her eyes away from the blackboard. "I was looking for you."

He stares at her for a second long. "Um… me? Why? Is Bitch-sensei in need of a henna tattoo again?"

She laughed and _God_ , now he really wanted to sketch her.

"Nah. Think you can be my partner?"

"Excuse me?"

She chuckled, waving the script in his face. "You know, for this scene. It was originally s'posed to be Isogai-kun, but he was called into work, so…" she shrugged.

"Oh. Well, of course."

She _beams_ and all he can think of is how _radiant_ it is. Maybe he's creepy, but he can't help it if she's a goddess. "Thanks! I can't wait to experiment."

He chuckles. "I hate to burst your bubble, but Okuda-san and I decided against using the real thing. Those are just water and food coloring. We kept in mind that you and Karma would be in this scene."

She smiled, looking proud. "Look at you, being smart."

They stand in silence before she says, "This movie thing is really fun. I read through the script and Bitch-sensei and Karasuma-sensei _better_ be together by the end of this."

A question begins to form in his head. Something along the lines of: _this was your plan after all wasn't it?_

He doesn't get to ask, though, because she suddenly grabs his hand and spins him around the room, laughing. "Come on, let's dance," she says. He can already tell that he's _really_ red.

She thought a little bit, humming softly. "You know, I can recommend adding a scene like this to Fuwa."

"Please don't mention we did this."

"Of course not. No way in hell am I giving Akabane blackmail material." Nakamura responded, spinning around.

Their faces were really close, and she blushed a little.

They didn't notice the door opening. "Sugaya-kun? Terasaka's being an idiot as always and he accidentally-"

They both jumped apart and Itona smiled awkwardly, averting his gaze.

"I saw nothing," he said, holding his hands up, before turning and closing the door gently behind him.

"What the-"

Nakamura just laughed, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Relax," she said, calmly, nudging him. "Itona-kun doesn't like to get involved in gossip, anyway."

"He's brutally honest, though."

"Eh. No one would suspect that we're dating, anyway."

His eyes widened and he backpedaled, much to her amusement. "Hold on a sec, since when were we dating?"

"Today," she said casually, pressing her lips to his own briefly. "I'll meet you at the station at eight. No excuses."


	3. SCENE 2, TAKE 1

They're already filming, and it takes all of Karma's willpower not to cackle evilly at the strained smile on their blonde-haired foreign language teacher's face as she pretended to teach them chemistry, reciting her lines perfectly. (She clearly didn't understand a word she was saying.)

She looked dead inside. It was glorious.

"Karma, you sociopath," Nagisa whispered, noting the look on his friend's face.

He just grins lazily and rests his cheek on his palm. They were still keeping their actual names and personalities - he was still the bad boy honor student, Nagisa was still the sweet goody-two-shoes, and so on.

Minus the cameras manned by Okajima and Mimura, Itona standing by the doorway, controlling a toy helicopter to film from above, and the absence of a certain yellow octopus teaching them, it felt like a normal class.

Nagisa raised his hand on cue, and Bitch-sensei responded with a, "Yes, you, the blue-haired one at the back!"

"My name's Nagisa, sensei," he said with a small smile, his blue eyes sparkling. _Adorable_. He's obviously eager. Karma can tell that this whole movie thing excited his blue-haired friend. "And are we allowed to start experimenting now?"

"Right. Of course. Go ahead."

Kataoka announced the end of the scene, and she and Isogai helped Okajima and Mimura shuffle the cameras so they focused solely on Bitch-sensei.

They pretend to mix the liquids, which, upon closer inspection was more or less just water and food coloring. Karma smirked, knowing he – and, maybe, to some extent, Nakamura – was mostly the reason for Sugaya and Okuda taking such measures.

As according to the screenplay, Bitch-sensei let out a small sigh through her cherry-painted lips, looking madly in love. Yada giggled, turning to Kimura and saying her line: "She's in love. How sweet. I think we all know who the lucky guy is..."

Nagisa smiled faintly and pretended to jot down notes and Karma continued to mix the liquids with a bored expression on his face.

Until he sets it on fire, that is.

Smoke curled from the tube, and, in his surprise, he knocked it over. A small portion of the table was set on fire. Everyone turned to him, eyes wide and jaws slacked. Nakamura was laughing.

Nagisa's eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to smack Karma with his notebook. He gaped at the flames for a second, thinking, _how the_ hell _do you set something on fire with water and food coloring?  
_

Then he remembered what Fuwa said in case something in the act went wrong: _pretend it's all a part of the scene._

Of course, it's _nowhere near_ the actual scene. Everyone was staring, including Bitch-sensei and the cameramen, still in shock, and Nagisa poured a cup of water over the small flame. _Then_ he smacked Karma on the head.

Karma rubbed the spot and mumbled a small _ouch._ Then he said, to everyone, "Well, what are y'all staring at? Get back to experimenting."

He turned to Nagisa, who was still staring at him. "What is it, Nagisa-kun? Don't tell me you're falling in love with me already–"

He smacked Karma again, pink dusting his cheeks, spreading slowly downward. "You're impossible," he hissed softly. "How did you even manage to light a fire? They weren't even real chemicals!"

He shrugged nonchalantly, wrapping his arm around the smaller boy's shoulder. "Anything can happen."

For that, he received a smack in the arm. "Get away from me."

"You're adorable when you're flustered." Karma teased, poking his best friend's cheek. He reddened more.

" _CUT!_ " Isogai shouted, and they jumped apart.

Nagisa was all flustered, playing with the hem of his shirt and then tapping his pens on the desk, anything not to look Karma in the eyes.

Isogai headed towards them. "Hey, Karma," he said softly. "If it's alright with you, please stop going all goo-goo eyes over Nagisa, just for a moment. Karasuma-sensei is entering the next take and I really don't want you overpowering the main couple. Kataoka-san and Fuwa-san will have my head."

Isogai and Nagisa laughed at Karma's reddening face. The redhead tossed his pen at Isogai, aiming for his eye. He caught it effortlessly.

"Dammit, ikemen."

* * *

Nagisa sat on the steps, his blue twin-tails ruffled by the breeze as he stared out at the field, watching his friends set up the cameras and practice their lines, laughing whenever they made a mistake. His blue eyes, however, looked faraway. His lips were pursed slightly. His cheek rested on his palm. He was clearly thinking.

Karma sat down next to him, waving a hand in front of his face. "What are you thinking about?"

Nagisa's eyes widened, and he turned to Karma, startled. "Hello, Karma-kun," he said, smiling brightly. "I... I was kind of thinking about earlier. How on Earth did you do it? Set the fire, I mean?"

Karma laughed, tucking his arms behind his head. "Why, with my burning love for you, of cour-"

Nagisa threw him an unamused look and said, deadpan, "You snuck in the chemicals, didn't you? When?"

Karma laughed even more, ruffling the blunette's hair. "My Nagisa-kun is so smart!" he said, grinning toothily. "Well, let's see. When I snuck in the chemicals... Right after Sugaya-kun and Nakamura-san's make-out session–"

Nagisa's jaw dropped, staring at him incredulously. "What?!"

Karma snickered, popping devil horns and a tail. "Oh yeah," he said, whipping out his phone and opening it, swiping across the screen with glee. "Nakamura-san is going to be at my contro–"

The bluenette gently pushed the phone away. "I'm not even going to ask how you got that."

"I'll tell you, anyway!" The redhead said happily. "You see, I was–"

"Let me rephrase: I do not want to know how you got that."

Karma pouted. "But it's an interesting story!"

Nagisa threw him another unamused look and sighed, "Karma-kun, you're ways of finding blackmail makes me fear for your future."

"Don't worry, Nagisa-kun!" Karma said brightly, wrapping his arm around Nagisa's shoulder. "As long as you're there with me, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

Nagisa's cheeks went pink, but this time he didn't try to push him away. Instead, he let out a huff through his teeth. "And what makes you think that I'll still be there?"

Karma looked at him. _Really_ looked at him, and Nagisa noticed some things he never did before. Had his eyes always been flecked with brown? And had they always looked like melted gold? "Tell me, Nagisa-kun, would you ever leave me?"

Nagisa puffed his cheeks a little, huffing once more. But then he turned to look at Karma again, smiling sincerely.

"Of course not."


	4. SCENES 3-5

"–and, action!"

Itona played an audio recording of the school bell. The students pretended to pack their bags and gather their notes, some leaving instantly and others staying a bit to chat and offer to walk together home.

Karma walked over to the teacher's desk with a blue notebook – it was one of Nagisa's; he had so many notebooks he could open a shop, and he found that quirk adorable – and slipped it over.

Bitch-sensei looked up with a bored expression on her face.

He nodded to the notebook. "My homework, Iris-sensei."

She cocked an eyebrow, tossing her blonde waves over one shoulder as she put her paperwork aside and took the notebook. "You're actually passing your homework? Well, that's new."

He laughed, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I try," he drawled. "So, sensei, need any help with your nonexistent love life? I've never seen someone so smitten before. It's kinda pathetic."

"You're actually doing something nice," she said in slight disbelief.

He feigned pain. "Why, sensei, I'm a very nice person, you know."

"Tell that to judge," she muttered under her breath. "And no, I don't need help, thank you very much."

She flipped open the notebook and screamed as Karma stifled his cackles, a handful of (fake) insects falling to the floor. She noticed they weren't real and a vein popped in her forehead. "You brat–!"

" _CUT!_ " Kataoka yelled, looking utterly exasperated. Karma was laughing so much he had to sit on the floor. "Karma! What is wrong with you?"

Karma composed himself, sticking out his tongue. "You're no fun."

"We're doing this properly! Stick to the script!"

"Just Another Love Story, scene three, _take four_!"

…

…

"–scene four, take one!"

"Iris," Karasuma-sensei said calmly. "You need to make an English test for this week. That is all. See you tomorrow."

He left.

Bitch-sensei threw her head back and groaned, "That straight lace will never notice me."

"Can you blame him, though?" Karma said casually, poking his head through the doorway.

Bitch-sensei glared daggers at him.

Nagisa slapped an open palm on his forehead.

Laughs and groans scattered to all the students who were watching.

"Cut!" Isogai said with a (slightly exasperated) smile. "Karma-kun, please don't enter the scene when you're not a part of it. We're running on a schedule here."

"Just Another Love Story, scene four, _take six_!"

…

…

"–scene five, take eleven!"

The girls were gathered around Kataoka's table. Minus Hayami, who was leaning against the blackboard, looking apathetic, and Hazama, who was nowhere to be seen, they were all giggling quite loudly.

Enter Bitch-sensei in _five… four… three… two–_

"Get back here you brat!"

Isogai's eyes widened, his antennae bouncing like they always did when he was surprised.

"That sounded like Bitch-sensei."

"Yeah," Maehara nodded, appearing by his side. "2,000 yen that Karma's being Karma."

Isogai turned to his best friend with a smile on his face. "Hiroto, I don't do gambling, we've established that. Besides, I'm almost sure that you're righ–"

"When I get my hands on you–"

The door slammed open and Karma came running in, cackling madly.

Bitch-sensei followed suit, looking enraged. Her face was flushed red and a vein seemed to pop in her forehead. Everyone sweat dropped.

Karma laughed. "Careful, sensei, you're going to get wrinkles at this rate," he teased.

"You little–!"

Isogai and Maehara glanced at each other, exasperated, before grabbing their teacher and holding her back. She thrashed in their grip. A few other students joined in, for fear that she would murder their redheaded classmate – teacher or not, she was still an assassin, and a well-known one at that.

Karma was still laughing when he felt a tug on his hand

He looked down to see Nagisa, peering at him with his blue eyes that rivalled a cloudless sky and an exasperated smile. "What did you do this time, Karma-kun?"

He smiled, cherubic innocence painted on his face. "How mean, Nagisa-kun. You say it like you were expecting it."

Nagisa just continued to smile at him, staring at their teacher, still glaring daggers at the redhead. "Oh, Karma-kun, to be honest, I'd be awfully worried if you didn't pull at least one prank a day. I suppose I can rest easy for now."

"Please, sensei! We really need to film this scene!"

"Yeah, Bitch-sensei, don't you want to assassinate the octopus?"

"You know how Karma is. Whatever he did, it coulda been worse!"

"Fine! Brats!" Bitch-sensei said, dropping her glare. "Well? Let's get to it, then!"

The directors were glad at this bit of news. Isogai smiled, shaking his head as Maehara laughed by his side. Kataoka sighed in relief, pinching the bridge of her nose as her ponytail swayed at the movement.

"Let's keep going then," she said sternly. "Everyone, back to your places. Okajima-kun, Mimura-kun, fix the camera positioning if you must. Itona-kun, please get your camcopter ready."

She turned at Karma, eyes narrowed. "And _you_ –"

Nagisa shook his head. "Kataoka-san, it's alright. I promise that Karma-kun won't cause any more trouble. I'll make sure of it."

Kataoka sighed – Nagisa was pretty much the only one who could set Karma in line anyway – and turned to Isogai, saying something about schedules and budgets.

Karma ruffled the bluenette's hair. "Thanks, Nagisa-kun. For a moment there, I thought she was going to lecture me. My poor eardrums aren't ready."

Nagisa playfully glared at him. "Only you, Karma-kun," he said with a slightly exasperated sigh. "Only you."

"Just Another Love Story, scene five, take _twelve_!"


End file.
